1. Russia sanctions

The showdown over sanctions is on. The House overwhelmingly passed a Russia sanctions bill — the vote was 419-3 — that would give Congress the power to block any attempt by the White House to water it down. It now moves on to the Senate, although it’s not clear when the upper chamber will take it up (it’s dealing with a little thing called health care) or, if the bill makes it to the President’s desk, if he’ll sign it. The White House has been putting out mixed messages on its support for the bill.

The Russians say if this measure becomes law, the United States will have taken “serious steps toward destruction” of normal relations between the two countries and that they would have to prepare a “painful” reaction to it. The bill also contains new sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

2. Health care bill

So the Senate — after a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence — voted to begin debate on an Obamacare repeal bill. For the GOP, that was the easy part. Now comes the heavy lifting — in the form of hours of debate and a seemingly endless stream of votes on amendments. The Senate’s already shot down the first proposal to come up, which was a rehash of a previous Senate health care bill with about $100 billion in extra Medicaid money thrown in to sweeten the pot.

Essentially what’s going to happen over the next few days is senators will throw pretty much everything on the wall to see what sticks, but it’s unclear whether any of it will get the 50 votes (plus Pence’s tie-breaker) needed to pass something.

3. Minneapolis police shooting

Did a slap spark the shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk? One of the Minneapolis police officers involved in the shooting says a “loud sound” startled him, and Ruszczyk was shot shortly afterward. The source of that sound may have been Ruszczyk slapping the back of the patrol car, according to a recently revealed search warrant. The shooting has roiled the Minneapolis Police Department, caused outrage in the United States and Australia and led to the resignation of the city’s police chief.

4. France wildfires

Thousands of people on the French Riviera have been evacuated as forest fires rage in the area. About 10,000 were moved from the coastal town of Bormes-les-Mimosas. Firefighting planes are dotting the skies over the town, dropping water bombs on the blazes. Many French residents vacation along the Riviera during late July and August.

5. NFL and brain disease

CTE was found in 99% of deceased NFL player’s brains donated to science, a new study reveals. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a brain disease often found in people who’ve been exposed to repeated head trauma, and its symptoms include memory loss, confusion, aggression and sometimes suicidal behavior.

So does this mean every NFL player will develop CTE? Not necessarily. The study points out its own potential bias because relatives of players donated their brains (right now CTE is only diagnosed after death) because of symptoms seen while the athletes were alive. And more importantly, the study doesn’t have a comparison group that represents all players who competed at the college or pro level.